"Hm? No—something's wrong!"
"Retreat!"
Jin Peng's expression changed as he looked up at the sky, where the gathering storm clouds grew ever darker and thicker. His eyes hardened with solemnity as he pulled Jiang Jue back, flying them both away from the cliffside.
"Young friend Jiang, you're about to witness something rare."
Rather than removing the golden barrier that shielded Jiang Jue, Jin Peng raised his hand and poured even more soul power into it, reinforcing the shimmering protection.
"Elder Jin, how could there possibly be so many Thunder Hellvines here?"
Jiang Jue's gaze sharpened as he stared at the mass of deep-blue vines that swayed and crackled under the storm.
In his understanding, Thunder Hellvine was an extremely rare—and tremendously powerful—plant-type soul beast. Records claimed that it carried traces of the Thunder God's bloodline. From birth, these vines would attract lightning during storms, luring thunder down upon themselves.
While other soul beasts fled from lightning, the Thunder Hellvine sought it eagerly—because lightning was its only path to growth. By absorbing the energy of each bolt, it strengthened itself and climbed the ladder of cultivation.
Moreover, such soul beasts usually appeared alone, deep in isolated forests, far from any trace of human presence.
But before Jiang Jue's eyes, on that massive cliff wall, there were dozens—at least sixty or seventy vines, each one glowing with violent arcs of blue electricity.
"Hahaha! This is the treasure ground I told you about—our Body Sect's sacred land!"
Jin Peng stroked his long beard and laughed heartily before continuing,
"Our sect was built atop a natural barrier at a high altitude, close to the heavens. The elevation makes this the perfect place for Thunder Hellvines to grow."
"As for why there are so many of them… the reason lies there!"
Jin Peng pointed toward the heart of the mass.
Jiang Jue followed his gaze—and saw it: within the cluster of vines stood one dark-purple Thunder Hellvine towering above the rest. Purple lightning flickered across its body, its surface gleaming like flowing crystal. It exuded an aura of unmatched pride and solitude.
And within that purple lightning, Jiang Jue sensed not mere thunder—but destruction itself.
When lightning grows too fierce, it becomes annihilation.
"Is that a ten-thousand-year Thunder Hellvine?"
Jiang Jue frowned, for his spiritual sense was being disrupted by the overwhelming storm. Even so, from the oppressive aura it radiated, he could tell—it had lived for well over ten thousand years.
"Yes," Jin Peng said with a slight nod, his tone filled with emotion. "And not just ten thousand. It has reached ninety thousand years."
"Ninety… thousand?!"
Jiang Jue's eyes widened in disbelief. "A Thunder Hellvine can live that long?"
"When I first saw it, I too could hardly believe it," Jin Peng said, eyes gleaming.
"When Thunder Hellvines are first born, they're barely the size of a bamboo shoot—the slowest-growing soul beast in existence. Their only method of cultivation is to draw lightning onto themselves."
"For every hundred bolts they endure, they gain one year of age. But once they surpass ten thousand years, they become one of the fastest cultivators in the entire soul-beast world."
"After ten thousand years, they gain the ability to manipulate weather—summoning thunder at will to temper themselves."
Jiang Jue knew this much. Among thunder-type soul beasts, Thunder Hellvine was among the most powerful. After all, what other creature grew stronger by being struck by lightning?
Because of their unique nature, once they reached a certain level, their destructive power became apocalyptic—turning vast regions into natural thunder pools.
These thunder pools expanded as the vine grew stronger, consuming everything around them. Nothing else could survive near them.
"But what grants them strength also brings their downfall," Jin Peng sighed, shaking his head in pity.
"Because they rely on lightning for power, once the energy within them becomes too compressed and destructive, their bodies can no longer withstand it—they risk exploding at any moment."
"However…" He smiled faintly, eyes glittering. "The one before us is different. You'll see soon enough—the show is about to begin."
Jin Peng clasped his hands behind his back and gazed toward the storming heavens.
Jiang Jue remained silent, but a flash of golden brilliance flickered in his eyes—his Eyes of Fate shone wildly, warning him that divine punishment was descending.
"Unaccepted by heaven and earth…" he muttered.
Thunder Hellvines were simply too extreme. Their destruction was uncontrollable, spreading disaster far and wide. As a result, none had ever survived beyond twenty or thirty thousand years—they always self-destructed before reaching a hundred thousand.
This was the will of the plane exacting punishment.
They were mighty—but doomed to perish young.
Rumble…! Rumble…!
Thunder roared like a beast as the clouds thickened, sinking lower and lower. Gale winds howled, and the air itself crackled with dense lightning energy.
In the next instant, the heavens turned black-purple, as though ink had spilled across the sky. Bolts of destruction poured down in torrents, each carrying a suffocating aura of annihilation.
Swish!
Boom!
A thick, bamboo-like vine shot into the sky, rising dozens of meters high. It gleamed like violet-gold, dazzling with the brilliance of thunder.
It faced the rolling heavenly thunder without a trace of fear—its bearing proud, defiant.
It was as if it were declaring: Let the heavens rage—this one vine alone shall stand against them all!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Low, booming sounds echoed as the vine's topmost segment glowed, sending forth countless translucent filaments that darted upward, piercing the clouds.
It was challenging the heavens.
BOOM!!!
In response to its defiance, the sky roared in fury. A thunderclap of world-shaking magnitude exploded, and the heavens darkened to an inky hue.
The storm clouds expanded wildly, and every bolt of lightning turned deep violet—so dark it was nearly black.
Dozens of thunderbolts crashed down simultaneously, slamming toward the cliff where the vines grew.
Yet instead of retreating, the ninety-thousand-year Hellvine surged upward, its massive body whipping through the air as it caught the lightning bolts one after another.
Even stray bolts that had missed were drawn in, snared by its strange, dancing tendrils—not a single spark wasted.
The heavens seemed to pause in astonishment.
"…What a glutton," Jiang Jue muttered, twitching his mouth.
The very lightning that all other soul beasts feared—it devoured greedily.
The clouds above churned furiously in rage. Countless thunderbolts flared again as masses of lightning condensed into spheres, intertwining in midair like a colossal storm-forged web.
Then, with a sound like the sky collapsing, a massive thunderball fell from above like a gigantic droplet of rain. Purple lightning rippled around it, warping the very air.
(End of Chapter)